U.N. ENVOY: LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS WERE
CRUCIAL FOR AFGHANISTAN’S TRANSITION

• Staffan de Mistura,
  the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for
  Afghanistan, told the
  
  Security Council this morning that events in recent
  months, including the July Kabul Conference and this month’s
  legislative elections, have been crucial for the country’s
  transition.
   

• On the elections, he
  said that, while early indications do not point to massive
  or systemic fraud, there were possibly widespread
  irregularities. He said we should allow time for the
  electoral process rather than making premature judgments.
   

• De Mistura said that
  the UN Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA)
  will continue to adjust to the priorities on the ground as
  set and driven by Afghans.
   

• Prior to its meeting
  on Afghanistan, the Security Council voted unanimously to
  extend the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra
  Leone (UNIPSIL)
  by one year, until 15 September 2011. The Council also voted
  to terminate sanctions measures on Sierra Leone.
   

• And the Security
  Council also authorized a temporary increase of the
  authorized military and police personnel in the Mission in
  Côte d’Ivoire (ONUCI),
  from 8,650 to 9,150.

SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE ON SEXUAL VIOLENCE
IN CONFLICT BEGINS WEEK-LONG VISIT TO DR CONGO

• The Special
  Representative of the Secretary-General dealing with sexual
  violence in conflict, Margot Wallström, has begun a
  week-long working visit to the
  
  Democratic Republic of Congo. Wallström is there to
  follow up on a request by the Secretary-General for a
  coordinated and effective UN response to the recent cases of
  mass rapes in the North Kivu province.
   

• She will visit that
  region, and hold meetings with Congolese Government
  officials, UN and other humanitarian personnel, as well as
  members of the international community.
   

• Meanwhile, the
  Office of the High Commissioner for human rights has set up
  a high-level panel to interview victims of these and other
  mass rapes that have occurred in the DRC. The panel will
  give the victims the opportunity to share their experiences
  and views on how to address their grievances on various
  levels--- whether legal, medical, psycho-social and
  socio-economic.
   

• It will be chaired
  by Kyung-wha Kang, Deputy High Commissioner for Human
  Rights.

NEW MEMBERS APPOINTED TO UNITED NATIONS
UNIVERSITY

• The
  Secretary-General and Director-General of the United Nations
  Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO),
  Irina Bokova, have appointed 14 new members to the governing
  Council of
  
  United Nations University. The new appointees replace
  members retiring from the Council in 2010.
   

• They will serve for
  a term of six years (2010–2016) and will join 10 members of
  the UN University Council who were appointed in 2007.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

BAN KI-MOON HOPES
CHINA-JAPAN DIFFICULTIES WILL BE RESOLVED:
Asked about a dispute between China and Japan, the Spokesperson
said that the Secretary-General hopes that China and Japan, as
two good neighbors, will resolve their current difficulties in
an amicable way.  Good cooperation between these two nations is
essential. 

NEW SPECIAL ENVOY FOR
PAKISTAN NAMED: Asked about
Jean-Maurice Ripert, the previous Special Envoy dealing with
assistance to Pakistan, the Spokesperson said that Ripert’s term
finishes at the end of this year and noted the

recent appointment of Rauf Engin Soysal as Envoy for
Pakistan.

SECRETARY-GENERAL
WATCHING DEVELOPMENTS ON D.P.R.K. LEADERSHIP:
Asked about announcements concerning the leadership of the
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), the Spokesperson
said that the Secretary-General is watching developments in the
DPRK with interest.

* The guests today
were Robert Orr, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy
Planning, and Nicholas Haysom, Director in the Executive Office
of the Secretary-General. They reviewed the General Assembly
plenary and other recent events.